Grub and Grubs

Pavlova

  • 6 egg whites
  • 300g golden caster sugar (you can use white caster sugar, but the golden stuff gives the pavlova a beautiful caramel flavour)
  • 1tbsp cornflour
  • 1tsp salt
  • 1tsp vanilla extract
  • 1tbsp vinegar – whatever type you have
  • Fresh fruit – blueberries, kiwis and raspberries work really well as they don’t add too much more sweetness on top of a sickeningly sweet cake
  • Double cream
  1. Preheat the oven to 160c
  2. Whisk the egg whites until stiff
  3. Add 2 tablespoons of the sugar and continue whisking for a minute
  4. Repeat until all of the sugar has been added and the mix forms silky stiff peaks
  5. Add the cornflour, salt, vanilla and vinegar and whisk again until combined
  6. Line a baking tray with baking paper
  7. If you are using a fan oven, dab each corner of the baking paper with a teaspoonful of the mix and use this to stick the paper to the baking tray – this will stop the paper from blowing about in the oven
  8. Gently spoon the mix out onto the middle of the baking paper – you can pipe it on if you really want to
  9. Put in the oven and after 10 minutes turn the heat down to 100c
  10. Bake for a further 3 hours. Remove from the oven and let it cool completely
  11. Whip the cream until thick, but not stiff, and spread over the top of the pavlova (don’t add sugar as you need the savoury flavour of the cream to cut through the sweetness of the pavlova)
  12. Arrange the fruit on top and serve in huge portions